Jose: Terry lost his self-esteem, now I'm battling to lift him back up... and why I love the 'f*** off Mourinho' chants

Jose Mourinho believes John Terry has got his self-esteem back after a turbulent couple of years in which he feared his captain was ‘going in the wrong direction’.

The 32-year-old has excelled under Mourinho - who gave the interview to the Guardian - starting all seven of Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League fixtures this season.

It’s a far cry from his final months under interim boss Rafa Benitez, who claimed the defender could not manage two games a week.

Recovery: Jose Mourinho says John Terry (right) is starting to get back his self-esteem

That demise, coming after Terry was twice
stripped of the England captaincy and retired from international
football in the wake of his race row with Anton Ferdinand, stunned
Mourinho as he watched on from Real Madrid.

But the Portuguese is
adamant that Terry is now ‘back on track’ and far from finished at the
highest level.

Mourinho told the Guardian: ‘He’s recovering his self-esteem. In the
last few years he was not playing a lot, he had problems on the pitch,
he had problems outside the pitch, he had suspensions for different
reasons, he had injuries, he had managers who didn’t trust him enough.
And it looked like his career was going in the wrong direction.

‘Even
I was questioning, from far away, what was happening: physical
problems, psychological problems, what is going on? I’m happy he’s
proving he’s still a top player.

Last time around: Mourinho and Terry (right) with the Premier League trophy back in 2005

‘He plays in a position where age
doesn’t make a huge difference. It’s a position where players rely more
on positioning, on reading the game and being in the right place at the
right time. Experience helps.

‘Look at how many top teams have
experienced players at centre half: Barcelona and Carles Puyol;
Manchester United and Rio Ferdinand; Jamie Carragher at Liverpool was
playing until last season and was important. You go to many clubs, top
clubs, and central defenders are 30 to 34. John is proving his quality.
With what he did at Chelsea in the last decade, I think he deserves to
be back on track.’

Mourinho also outlined his vision to see Frank
Lampard, 35, converted from a surging midfielder to a playmaker in the
mould of Italy’s Andrea Pirlo.

Race row: Terry was accused of abusing Anton Ferdinand (second left) and was hit with a four-game ban

Dropped: Terry struggled with fitness and was often benched by interim manager Rafa Benitez

Lampard’s England place has been
called into question after he was left out of the side for the World Cup
qualifier against Poland after his display against Montenegro, but
Mourinho added in the Guardian: ‘Of course Frank can become that. He has to
adapt and learn every day how to play with this new body. A player can
still learn new skills at his age.

‘I’m 50 and have been a manager
since 2000 and I’m learning every day. You can always learn new skills,
especially if the player has an open mind like he does. He’s a player
who can keep the side’s balance, who thinks about the game and can work
with kids around him.

Chelsea favourite: Lampard is among the finest players in the Blues history

‘For him, it was very good I’m back because
the trust is so big. He knows that every decision I make on him is for
my team — because that’s most important — but also for him. So if, one
day, I bring him off at 70 minutes or leave him on the bench or give him
a rest and don’t select him, it’s for his own good.

‘He knows,
without me speaking to him every day — which I don’t do with my players —
that I’m doing it for him. The trust and friendship is so big that he
is happy. At this moment of his career, it was very important for him to
have somebody like me around.’

Say cheese: Mourinho poses at a photo shoot for Porsche, for whom he is a brand ambassador

Since his return, the manager has again regularly heard the 'f*** off, Mourinho' chant aimed in his direction.

But he has revealed that he loves the attention, which he describes as 'pure hostility'.

He told the Guardian: 'I enjoy playing
at home, feeling the Chelsea fans' passion, that they are happy to have
me on their side; but I also enjoy playing away and feeling the
opponents support their own team, giving me that hostility.

In focus: Mourinho and a fan pose for the camera at the Porsche photo shoot at the adidas Bond Street store

Taking his pick: Mourinho browses some jackets while at the Porsche design photo shoot

'It's a pure hostility. It's not
aggressive. If Chelsea fans at Norwich are singing: 'Jose Mourinho', and
the other guys sing 'f*** off Mourinho', I don't think it's aggressive
hostility.

'It's better than them ignoring me.
If, one day, I was Norwich manager, they'd be singing my name too. It's
pure.

'Here, even the hostility is
different. More tongue in cheek. When I'm not winning I'm "not special
any more". I understand that and I like it.'

Confident: Mourinho believes he can get the former England captain back on track